1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a personal floatation device having an improved float. More in particular, the present invention includes an improved float and a strap assembly to connect the float to a wearer and thereby apply buoyant forces or lift to the body of a wearer in water. The float is structured to comfortably support the head of the wearer above water level and to tend to orient the head into a face-up attitude while the wearer of the device is in water, without being lifted over the chin and off the head of the wearer by the buoyant forces being applied by the water. Further, the improved float is capable in a preferred embodiment of being converted into a seat cushion with a seat back to provide more comfortable seating on a boat or other location including a sporting or stadium event, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of life vests or personal floatation devices exist which are designed to be worn or otherwise used by a person to keep that person afloat in a body of water. Such floatation devices, also referred to as marine buoyant devices, are currently in wide use in the recreational, commercial and military areas. In addition, floatation devices having certain performance characteristics are a legal requirement in the operation of boats and ships of various sizes.
The United States Coast Guard ("USCG") has established guidelines for determining the performance level of a life vest or personal floatation device ("PFD"), based on the life saving capacity of such devices. For instance, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., which is understood by the inventor hereof to be an approved testing agency for the USCG, lists several categories of "Buoyant Devices" in its Mar. 29, 1996 handbook entitled "UL 1123 Standard for Marine Buoyant Devices," which is incorporated herein by reference. One of these categories is for a Type I device, also referred to as an "off-shore" PFD which is intended to turn most unconscious wearers face up in the water and which is best suited for open, rough or remote water where rescue may be slow in coming. There is also a Type II device, sometimes also referred to as a "near shore" PFD, which is "intended to turn some unconscious persons from a face down position in the water to a position where the wearer's respiration is not impeded." These PFDs are good for calm, inland water or where there is a good chance of fast rescue. Other categories of PFDs include a Type III device, which is "intended to support a conscious person in the water in an upright position . . . [or backward position but] is not required to turn an unconscious person in the water from a face-down position to a position where the wearer's respiration is not impeded." As such, a Type III device is not suitable for an unconscious wearer because a wearer may have to tilt his or her head back to avoid going face down in the water, and further, his or her face may often be covered by waves. There is also a Type IV device, which is "intended to be thrown to and grasped by a person in the water" and which does not need to provide any means for closely fitting about the person's body. Of course, the Type IV device is also not suitable for an unconscious person, but also not even for a non-swimmer, as such devices require a person to hold on for buoyant support.
In addition, the United States Coast Guard ("USCG") subjects PFDs to certain "tests" such as the "Donning Test," wherein the PFD must be capable of being donned in a short period of time, usually one minute or less, and a "Flotation Stability Test," to name a few. There are others, such as a "freeboard test", which measures a distance perpendicularly from the surface of the water to lowest point where the wearer's respiration may be impeded, a "head support" test, a "face plane angle" test, and a "chin support" test, with specific criteria for passing such tests. As one might imagine, to qualify as a Type I or a Type II device, there is also a "turning test." Of course, several PFDs or personal floatation devices have been developed which meet the various testing and other criteria of the USCG for the foregoing "Types" of devices.
The USCG requires that approved PFDs be available on a boat, although the number and type depend on the number of people on board, the size and type of boat, and the kind of boating. Of course, a PFD can only be helpful in a emergency on the water if it is readily available. As one never knows when an emergency situation will arise, it would naturally be best for persons who are out on the water or on a boat to wear a PFD at all times. The USCG's booklet entitled "Think Safe Choose the Right Personal Flotation Device (PFD)" reports that most drownings do not occur way out at sea, but instead, that nine (9) out of ten (10) drownings occur in inland waters. Given this fact, and a choice among the various "Types" of PFDs, it would be preferable for recreational boaters and the like on inland waters to carry at least Type II PFDs on board, and further, to wear such PFDs at all times.
There has, however, been a persistent problem in the art relating to the comfort of a Type II PFD when it is being worn by a person both in and out of the water, which makes doing so impractical. Presumably, this is also true of Type I PFDs as well, although this discussion will refer more to Type II PFDs. More in particular, with all of the known Type II PFDs, there is a tendency for the PFD to "ride up" from the intended position about the torso of the wearer and to not just contact, but to apply pressure to the skin about the neck, jaw and/or chin of the wearer, especially when he or she is immersed in water. As the skin and muscles about one's neck, chin, and even at the base of the skull are sensitive, if not tender, this causes discomfort, particularly if the PFD is worn in water for more than just a short period of time. In addition, this tendency of known PFDs to ride up and become bunched about the neck and chin of the wearer restricts one's ability to talk freely and comfortably. In addition, Type II PFDs tend to cause discomfort when worn outside of the water, tending to dig into the back of the neck of wearer. This is particularly apparent when the wearer gets out of the water because the device is much heavier.
In recognition of this, the inventor hereof has long worked on providing a solution to this problem and others in the art of PFDs, which has resulted in the development of two PFDs, for which U.S. patents have been granted to the inventor hereof. One such patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,151, discloses a device having a buoyant front panel, a buoyant pair of spaced shoulder embracing elements, and a buoyant rear support panel defined by a backrest portion and a headrest portion, and a strap assembly to connect these panels about a wearer. However, experience has shown the PFD disclosed in this patent to suffer from certain disadvantages. For example, the approach of this patented device in addressing the tendency of a PFD to ride up and apply pressure about the wearer's neck and chin focused on providing support and cushioning under the arms of a wearer. This device, however, is fairly complicated in its construction, and further, requires components which are not already accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard and/or testing agencies approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, and consequently, it is expensive to manufacture, assemble and effectively bring to market. In addition, this patented device, which also converted into a seat back for use at a sporting event so as to offer a more usable device, fell short of qualifying as a Type I or Type II floatation device. Further, this patented device did not meet certain other criteria deemed desirable by the inventor hereof, such as qualifying as a "Universal Size Device," which the USCG uses to refer to an adult floatation device intended for use by persons in the thirty inch (30") to fifty-two inch (52") chest size.
The other is U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,338, which discloses a personal floatation device having a plurality of buoyant material panels which substantially encircle the wearer, a head support portion, and an improved strap assembly. While this patented PFD is more simple in its construction, the plurality of buoyant panels encircling the wearer still resulted in its being relatively expensive to manufacture and assemble. In addition, this patented PFD relied primarily upon the strap assembly being snugged closely about the body of the wearer in order to not ride up and apply pressure about the neck and chin of the wearer. The disadvantage associated with this PFD, however, was that if the strap assembly were not snugged closely or tightly enough about the wearer, the PFD would not only ride up, but would not pass certain of the USCG tests for a Type II device, such as the chin support test, which requires that the PFD be in direct contact with the wearer's jawline when the wearer is in either the vertical upright or relaxed face-up position or that the PFD prevent the wearer from touching his chin to his chest while in the relaxed face-up position.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a PFD which not only meets the life saving criteria of the U.S. Coast Guard for a Type II device, but which is comfortable to wear and which does not put any undue pressure under or around the neck area of the wearer, especially when he or she is immersed in water, but also when he or she is not immersed in water, in order to encourage the wearing of a PFD at all times during an outing on a water craft. Ideally, any such PFD should permit the wearer to talk freely, even when immersed in water. Any such PFD should also be relatively simple in its construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and capable of enabling a person to determine easily how to don the PFD, so that it may be readily donned in a short period of time. It would also be ideal if any such PFD were developed to also be convertible into a seat cushion and seat back, so that the PFD would be more likely to be used and readily available at all times during an outing on a water craft. Finally, any such PFD should be properly positioned on the wearer in order to provide adequate floating support in an evenly distributed manner to the body of the wearer in water, and further, should accomplish all of these objectives without requiring that the straps or other mechanism which mounts the PFD to the wearer's body be unduly snug about the wearer's body.